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2017 Disaster Supplemental Appropriations Proposed for Agriculture (CRS Report for Congress)

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Release Date Revised Jan. 25, 2018
Report Number IN10843
Report Type Insight
Authors William L. Painter
Source Agency Congressional Research Service
Older Revisions
  • Premium   Dec. 19, 2017 (4 pages, $24.95) add
Summary:

According to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 2017 was “a historic year of weather and climate disasters” for the United States. A combination of deadly hurricanes and wildfires were among the 57 major disasters declared under the Stafford Act in 2017. The series of supplemental appropriations requested and provided in the wake of 2017’s hurricanes and wildfires are the latest exercise of one congressional role in disaster situations—to exercise “the power of the purse” to provide relief to state and local governments overwhelmed by disaster response and recovery needs, fund certain relief for individuals and small businesses, and to repair damage to federal facilities. Two supplemental appropriations bills have been enacted in response to Administration requests made in September and October 2017 in the wake of these incidents, providing $34.5 billion in new budget authority and canceling $16.0 billion in debt held by the National Flood Insurance Fund. The Administration made a third supplemental appropriations request for disaster relief and recovery funding in November 2017, seeking roughly $44.0 billion in additional funding. In response, in December 2017, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 4667, which included $81.0 billion in additional funding, as well as other matters. H.R. 4667 is currently awaiting action in the Senate. This report provides a detailed breakdown of the requested, enacted, and proposed supplemental funding in each of these measures, and provides a contact listing for CRS experts on the funded relief and recovery programs. As Congress weighs this legislation and chooses how to proceed, it faces a variety of issues, including the appropriate application of budget discipline when disaster relief is requested from the federal government, the appropriate breadth and speed of the response, and how to ensure that the funding provided is not spent on wasteful or fraudulent endeavors. This report also briefly explores those issues.